Street Art War?

Posted by The G on October 31, 2011 under Street Art, The G Spot | Be the First to Comment

Photo by G.

Peru Ana Ana Peru has been X’ed out!  There’s a site reference to PeruAnaWTF.com but it appears that perhaps this is all a joke.  One thing that is not a joke is a growing sense of hostility within the street art community.  Both in person and on-line, I’ve been seeing lots of capping going on.  For those not so immersed in the world of street art, this means an artist is covering up the work of another artist.  The reasons for capping vary – sometimes they are personal, sometimes they are done in retaliation, and sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason for it.  Of course, this kind of thing is going to happen whether I offer my two cents or not, but I would just like to let logic be my guide for a quick second and offer the following observation:

The street art community is pretty small.  An unfortunate fact of street art is that authorities will do whatever they can to silence and suppress artists from leaving their work in public places (sometimes for good reason and sometimes not).  It is what it is.  With all that negativity from the authorities and law enforcement, it seems silly to me that the street art community wouldn’t want to put aside petty differences and look out for each other instead of sabotaging a fellow artists’ work.   Let me just point out that some of the greatest art of all time has been the result of a nasty squabble with someone else and the genius often lies with the outlet the artist chooses to express it.

Take my advice or not, but please – save your issues for the magazine rack and keep the drama on the silver screen!

I’m a lover, not a fighter (and I can provide references from satisfied customers that demonstrate I am a damn good one too). 

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